Lament
by cwtch1
Summary: "I believe that love is a double edged sword, and no matter how you hold it you'll get hurt... It's kind of like you're a bomb. You can destroy everything in your path, but you also end up destroying yourself in the process." Looking back, she realizes how naive she was about love. Why did Paul have to ruin everything? Ikarishipping. AU. First story, looking for beta! :)
1. Chapter 1: Lament

**A/N: Hi guys! This is my first story on ****fan fiction, so please give as much criticism as necessary so I can improve _(AKA REVIEW PLEASE)_! To me, this story is basically a long drabble of Dawn reflecting on her high school love. It's a coming of age story- learning to see past the lies that media and the oblivion that many young girls have towards love. This story is slightly based off of my own experiences with love, so if Dawn seems a little OOC I apologize! Again, I'm new at this. **

**Summary: Looking back, she hated who she was. The old her was pure hearted but oblivious, she embraced everything but was naive. The old her was convinced that love was going to be the best thing that happens to her, she was so sure. Dawn sees love without flaw, but can a certain purples haired teenager show her a harsher, more realistic love? In the end, the question arises… what is love exactly?**

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

**lament**

_[luh-ment_]  
verb (used with object)  
1.  
**to feel or express sorrow or regret for**:  
to lament his absence.  
2.  
to **mourn** for or over.  
verb (used without object)  
3.  
to **feel, show, or express grief, sorrow, or regret**.  
4.  
to **mourn** deeply.  
noun  
5.  
an **expression of grief or sorrow.**  
6.  
a formal expression of sorrow or mourning, especially in **verse** or song; an elegy or dirge.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)  
**

**Chapter 1: Lament**

I believe that love is a double edged sword, and no matter how you hold it you'll get hurt. Whether it be a cautious and careful cradling or a tight enclosure of your fingers strangling the weapon, you'll get cut. Love helps, love hurts. Love open new and old wounds. It's kind of like you're a bomb. You can destroy everything in your path, but you also end up destroying yourself in the process.

I think what I'm trying to get across is that love is a weapon. And maybe for a girly girl like myself, I really shouldn't be saying that. I should tell you all about love in the sense that it is like a never ending sunset; something so beautiful and unrealistic you can't believe what's even happening. The pink clouds and warm orange light mirror the butterflies that float around in your stomach. The blending and mix of all those colors in the sky are like your thoughts and memories leading up to that bright and empowering golden sun. This sun, specifically, your sun is the center of your world. That person is everything. That person is the reason for this amazing event, this thing called love. Majestic, awe inspiring invigorating love.

But the thing is, a sunset is not never ending. Like all things in life, everything comes to an end. So what's left when your sun fades away? What happens when those warm clouds turn gray, when the light turns black and when the alluring mix of colors in the sky are all dead. Where was that blissful love now?

And that's the reality of love. We can't watch that sunset forever. Sure, you can chase after it so you can attempt to mimic a "never ending sunset" but eventually you'll grow tired and stop. No matter what happens, you're stuck watching the sun slowly grow farther away, and learn to accept nature, love and the cruel relationship they have.

But I definitely believed in that never ending sunset! I believed in my fantasy so much I projected it to my reality and slowly things began to break. So here's my story. My pink clouds, my warm rays of sun, my feelings, thoughts and memories. Here's the whole package.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

Everything started to slowly collide around September of my sophomore year in high school. September 12th to be exact. The leaves were turning brown, a sign that winter was approaching. In the wilderness and in literature winter could be observed to be death. Everything is dead during that time; it's your lowest peak. I guess autumn should've been a warning to me, that death was inevitable, my sorrow was just fate, and that you can't escape this low point. But at the same time, after that "death", a new life is reborn is spring.

Walking into class that day, I wasn't expecting much. In English honors we were just reading and analyzing a play about the legend of Palkia and Dialga. The writing style was similar to Shakespeare, with old English and countless metaphors splashed on every page. It was about the tragedy of two lovers, Palkia and Dialga and how they became to be the deities they are today. It was pretty interesting.

"Hey Drew." I say with a smile, sliding into my seat. Drew gives his classic hair flip and I roll my eyes.

"How now, thy fair maiden? And what dost thou hath in thy simple hands?" He said, pointing the flowers I was holding.

"Methinks a gentleman must be attempting to woo me. Alas, master, my heart beats for thee alone!" I say dramatically, grabbing his hands. We both laugh and take our seats.

"But yeah… I found these on top of my locker this morning." I stuck my face into the flowers, taking in a big breath. I couldn't smell anything related to the flowers, just the plastic wrapping that was encased the flowers. "These are probably genetically modified to the max right?" Drew smirks. His mother runs a bunch of chain flower shops throughout the Sinnoh and Hoenn region, so he's an expert.

"They're not even considered flowers anymore, they're too fake." I laugh, and when I open my eyes, I awkwardly make eye contact with someone across the room. I quickly turn back to Drew.

"You should take them and burn them. Or what about the girl you're trying to pursue? What was her name, April?"

"May Maple." Drew replies quickly. Blush spreads across his face light wildfire, and he begins to look at the ground. "Her name is May." I give him a soft smile and pat his head affectionally.

"I wonder what it feels like." I mumble to him

"What feels like?"

"Falling in love?" Drew smacks me across the head and I giggle. "You didn't deny it!"

Drew mumbles something about "idiot" and "kill her" but I just smile and look out the window. The sun was bright, brighter than it had been in the summer. It gave off the appearance that it was hot outside, which was a lie. The strong and harsh wind violently nipped at my exposed legs and arms before I entered the class.

Maybe that's what love was like? Something that looks nice but actually isn't? I shake the thought out of my head and think of all the blissful moments I've watched around me in this school, and all the moments that I've seen on TV or from books. The anticipation, the rush, the nervousness and the feeling of being accepted wholly for all your flaws. That was love. That had to be! There was nothing else besides that. Love is beautiful, love is kind, love will be there best thing to happen to me.

I repressed it, but in the moment I felt something indescribable fluttering in my stomach. I was denying the flaws in love, and I would get hell to pay for it later.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"Sayonora sempai~" I yell jokingly to Ursula after cheer practice. Ursula is half Japanese, but you'd never expect it! She doesn't look Japanese, and she doesn't know a single Japanese word. She hasn't even eaten sushi!

"Bye you bitch!" She yells at me jokingly, sticking her tongue out and flipping me off. I laugh and walk to the west side of the Academy, towards the girls dorms. Worthington Preparatory Academy definitely lives up to the majestic attributions and high regard that any private boarding school would. Pure white, tall, grand buildings are occupied for classes, with granite pillars and marble statues everywhere. The grass is always neatly trimmed, the water fountains spray out the clearest water known to mankind, the sun sets right in the appropriate spot to make red brick pathways glow, lighting the paths set for the students. I hum a song and walk absentmindedly around the school, and accidentally bump into someone and fall to the ground.

"Sorry!"

"Hn." I look up to see a familiar face glaring at me. I widen my eyes slightly at the intensity of his dark eyes. How could someone have eyes that dark?! They looked like an endless pool, a dark abyss, a black hole that I couldn't escape. I felt myself being pulled closer to him. The guy put out his hand.

_Closer._

I grabbed his hand.

_Closer._

He pulled me up.

_Closer._

I didn't let go.

"My hand." He says roughly, and I immediately pull away.

"Oh Arecus, I didn't even notice. Sorry!"

"Whatever." He said turning around, walking away. I was pulled out of the black hole, forced out and shoved back into reality.

"Wait!" I call out, and put my hands to my mouth. I didn't even realize I said that until he slowly turned around. The golden rays of the sun were now in full effect, illuminating everything and turning everything in it's reach gold. The sky was a brilliant shade of pastel blues, purples and harsh pinks and oranges.

"Th-thanks." I say, looking him in the eyes. "Thank you….." I stop myself, not knowing his name. "What's your name?"

"Paul Shinji." He says shortly, and I frown a little sensing he wants the conversation to be short.

"I'm Dawn."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Who doesn't?" Paul turns away, and I'm not sure if I should take this last two words as a compliment or as an insult.

"I hope to see you again!" I yell out. He doesn't turn around, but keeps walking away and I sigh.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

I jolt awake, my body shaking as if I just fell from a building. I hated when stuff like that happens, it's so annoying.

I slowly got up and rested my head on the windowsill. The stars in Pastoria City glistened beautifully, and their light reflected across any body of water that came into contact with it. I sighed. My fingers slowly intertwined together and I sat there trying to imitate how his hands felt in mine. How cold his hands were and how they encompassed my own. I looked out towards the sky and the disorganized, jumbled set of stars and tried to organize my thoughts. Who was Paul? Why did he have such a pulling effect on me? The stars twinkled brightly, almost laughing at my simple thoughts. In comparison to them, I was so simple. People in general were so simple; we are nothing in comparison to the grand complexity of a star.

A star can result in many big scale things- a new planet is an example of one. The very ground that we stand on, came from the pure light of a star. And what can a human do? Contemplate the significance of another? That is minuscule in comparison to a star.

But when that star exploded, it sent down it's grandness, it's majestic qualities down to Earth. Each one of us has potential to be great because we have a little star in us. We are disorganized, twinkling stars. Including Paul.

I slapped myself and felt my cheeks grow warmer. I crawled back into my bed and closed my eyes, stars forming in my imagination. My stars were slowly pulled towards a black hole, and before I knew it that black hole consumed my mind.

Paul.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**A/N: There's the first chapter! Hope you enjoy it. Dawn isn't really infatuated with Paul, since she isn't attracted to him. But he's definitely someone that she has taken interest in. Dawn isn't really all knowledgeable in the whole loving someone, or boys in general (in the anime, she's friendly, but not flirty on purpose. Many fanfics that I have read depict her as someone who has had a ton of boyfriends and then is changed when Paul comes around. I believe Dawn isn't like that. Just because she's friendly doesn't mean flirtatious, as you will see through out this story!), or kissing and romantic stuff like that. She's seen in and has her own fantasy of what love is like and the benefits (no cons, just benefits) that come with it. She's young, she's shy, she's learning what is and isn't real with it comes to love.**

**There's a lot of metaphors (I tried :( and still suck) and if you need clarification, please ask!**

**Please review! I have NO IDEA how I'm doing and I desperately need feedback!**

**P.S: For those of you who don't live in the US or don't use the same time of grade levels as us, Sophmore year= 10th grade= 2nd year out of a total of 4 years**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter though! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Crush

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. This one is kind of filler-ish, but new characters will be introduced! Hope you guys enjoy~**

**Replies to reviews:**

**EEVEEpokemonDEDENNEdragonair24: oh my gosh, thank you so much! :) I'm glad you like it!**

**Sakura Touko: Thank thank thank thank you you youuuuu soooo much!**

**Flower Power: hope you like this chapter as much as the other! :)**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**crush**

_[kruhsh]_

verb (used with object)  
1.  
to press or squeeze with a force that destroys or deforms.  
2.  
to squeeze or pound into small fragments or particles, as ore, stone, etc.  
3.  
to force out by pressing or squeezing; extract:  
_to crush cottonseeds in order to produce oil._  
4.  
to rumple; wrinkle; crease.  
5.  
to smooth or flatten by pressure:  
_to crush leather._  
6.  
to hug or embrace forcibly or strongly:  
_He crushed her in his arms._  
7.  
to destroy, subdue, or suppress utterly:  
_to crush a revolt._

noun

1.

**A passing infatuation**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**Chapter 2: Crush**

I'll let you know, I've had crushes guys before. Oh, yes. There are a countless number of guys that I've come to crush upon. But that's all it was, a simple crush. I didn't feel loved and I never really showed it back, I guess. Liking someone, crushing on someone, and loving someone… they're all so different. But the differences are gradual, right? It's like the slow fade between morning and the afternoon; you don't realized it happened until its over. And I guess you don't really see the differences until it's over.

"Dawn, you should probably get up soon."

"Thank you Leaf." I slowly crawl out of bed, and drag the blankets off with me. It's too cold! I look outside, expecting snow but instead bright sunlight pierces my eyes and blinds me.

"I had the curtains closed for a reason." Leaf mumbled. She isn't a morning person either.

Somehow, I manage to get ready for school. Worthington Preparatory Academy's mascot is Arecus, and the uniform reflects it. I first put on the white long sleeve, collar button up and skillfully tie the golden tie around my neck. Every year, the girls try to change the uniform so we can get bows instead of ties, but that never happens. Next I put on the dark green skirt with golden yellow crisscrosses, which succeed in making it have a flannel design. After tucking in my shirt I put on the dark grey sweater vest and lastly a dark, midnight black blazer. The schools emblem is sewn the the left, around my chest. I grab a burgundy red infinity scarf and put on a pair of knee high black socks (since it was cold) and grab my brown boots.

"Bye Leaf, see you around."

"Bye."

I grab my purse and quickly dash out. I rub my hands together once I step outside, the cold air nipping at my bare skin.

"I wish my hands could be warmer..." I mutter, walking under the same architecture that I met Paul under. I jump up as a blast of wind hits me in the face.

Paul.

I clasp my hands together and stop walking, wondering why his hands felt so different than mine. I mean, they were bigger but that was about it. Maybe they were cold? I sigh in disappointment, that opportunity probably wouldn't happen again.

But those eyes! How could someone have eyes so intense, so dark and cold?

People said eyes were the window to the soul, but I never believed that bullshit. But maybe Paul... Paul was the exception.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"Morning!" I say cheerfully, plopping down my breakfast tray and sitting with my usual entourage. Currently it was just Drew and Gary.

"Melody said she needed to finish her Music Theory assignment this morning, so she won't be joining us." Gary said, noticing that I sensed someones absence. I giggle. Melody was always procrastinating until 20 minutes before, but somehow managed to pull through last minute. I stab my spoon into the fruit parfait that I had; I was extremely hungry. Next to me Gary was muttering absently to himself, his fingers playing with his tie.

"What wrong with you?" I ask him, pointing a spoon at him. He gives me a smile, and I feel heat rise up to my cheeks. Gary was very very attractive, and although he was a good friend, I can't help but to be infatuated by him.

"Nothing's wrong! Why would you think that Hikari?" He said teasingly, and casually runs his hand through his spiky auburn hair. I stare at him in awe, but qucikly get back to the subject at hand.

"C'mon, Gareth! There's obviously something wrong." I tease him back, calling him by his full name. I nudge his side and give a wink. "Spill the beans!"

"Nothing's wrong!" Gary grabs a textbook and opens it to a random page. "I should probably study, don't disturb me! But of course, if you were to disturb me in _that_ way then hey, I do-" I playfully slap Gary on the side and give him a disgusted look.

"What do you mean by _that _way?" I ask him, my voice getting higher

"FORNICATION!" Drew yells, and he grabs my shoulders. "Fornication~~" Drew says again, with a weird, creepy voice.

The three of us break out in laughter, earning a couple of gazes from the people around us. I wipe a small tear that has formed in the corner of my eye.

"But actually..." Drew starts, and points his fork at Gary. "Gary has to battle some guy for his pokemon battling class, and apparently that guy is a beast."

"DUDE!" Gary says, jumping over the table and elbowing Drew on his side. I pull on Gary and he sits back down.

"Gareth Oak...scared?" I say with a sly smile. I hear Gary groan in frustration.

"She's going to go on and on about this forever now." Gary mumbled, but me and Drew both heard him.

"But that's impossible!" I say sarcastically. "Gareth Oak is the epitome of perfection, he doesn't get scared! He represents our school, and is our Academy's pride!" I drone on and on, Gary turns red and Drew is constantly laughing.

I glance at my watch, and see that its 7:45, meaning school starts in 15 minutes. I grab all three of our trays and proceed to walk away. Drew and Gary appear by my side a few seconds after.

"By the way, who are you going against for your battle?"

"Paul Shinji. That one emo guy with the purple hair and weird ey-"

"Paul?" I say, his name escaping my lips quickly. I clasp my hands together, but quickly pull them apart. "I think I know him..." I throw a white lie.

"Is he really a good battler or are you just exaggerating?" Drew asks, Gary's face gets really serious.

"He's one of the 4 guys this year that are favored for beating Cynthia." My eyes get wide

"But he's only in high school! And those other guys who are favored are like... 20 or 30?!" I say with complete shock and surprise, the idea baffled me.

And once again, Paul Shinji become a black hole. All my thoughts were being dragged towards him.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

My legs kept jumping up and down in my seat, I was eager to get my last class over with. Usually, I love my pokemon coordinating class but today I wanted to get out and rush to see Gary's battle with Paul. I connected the dots and figured that his cold, hard and intense look was what his pokemon had grown to fear and respect. And I could completely understand why. Those dark eyes could be so intimidating to a pokemon, they'd probably try everything they could do in order to change that hard glance into a soft look of accomplishment. I twirl a piece of my hair and stare out the window. The sun was still shining bright but the trees were dancing around, the leaves kept them in rhythm.

The teacher cleared his throat and held a clipboard in his hand."For the next week, you'll be working with partners, and we'll have our own little contest next week. Your objective for this assignment is exemplify and hone all the potential that your partner's pokemon has."

I look around and see that majority of the class disliked the idea, and I could tell why. Worthington Preparatory Academy goes around each region and searches for the trainers, coordinators and even rangers with amazing ability and the drive to get better under harsh training. Before you can get into the school, there is a 3 week intense training course that everyone has to go through. If you pass each trial with outstanding effort, then you'll get in. The better you do, the less tuition you have to pay. So majority of these trainers- all these trainers don't mess around. They're in it for themselves and will crush anyone who gets in the way.

Mumbles of protest and dislike started to rise, but the teachers glare silenced everyone. "I'm going to announce your partners now."

"Drew Hayden and Zoey Nozomi." I turn to both of them and smile. Zoey was a nice girl I met during the training week, but she was also a tough coordinator. Drew flicked his hair, gave a smirk and held out his hand. Zoey gave a strong grin and roughly shook his hand. I turned back around to face the teacher and grinned.

Other names got thrown around and a patiently waited for my name to be called.

"May Maple and Dawn Hikari." My face shot up and I looked around for whoever May could be. My eyes caught Drew, and his eyes were wide with surprised. I smirked, remembering me and Drew talking about May yesterday.

"Over here May! You're going to be my new best friend." I say, winking at Drew. He groans and put his head on his desk. May walked up to me and took a seat. She had a red bow in her light brown hair, and her sky blue eyes looked at me with eagerness. Her cheeks were naturally flushed red, and her skin was flawless. I gave her a small smile, and saw why Drew had taken a liking towards the girl. She radiated happiness and joy.

I pulled out my phone and asked her to put in her number.

"Do you want to talk strategy? Are there any pokemon that you know that you want to use for sure?"

"Um...maybe my Beautifly. But of course, I can easily adjust your my pokemon to meet your teams needs." I raised an eyebrow at her. That statement sounded a little cocky, but looking at May I knew she was just trying to be nice.

"Well..." I started my sentence as I pulled out a piece of binder paper. "These are my pokemon right now." I wrote down Piplup, Pachirisu, Togekiss, my newly evolved Lopunny and Typholsion. They evolved during the 3 week training before school. I frowned at that thought, because I didn't want them to evolve since it's easier to work with smaller pokemon. Lastly I wrote Cherrim. The school makes you catch one pokemon during the 3 week training, and I caught Cherrim. But sometimes I switched out Pachirisu and Mamoswine, so I wrote Mamoswine in parenthesis.

"Wow, what a great team!" May says. I hand her my pencil, which she somehow misses and it falls.

"Sorry! I'll get it!" She reaches under the table, but her head hits the desk as she gets back up.

"Are you okay May?" I ask her, slightly amused. She seems really clumsy.

"Yeah I'm fine!" May does a slight fist pump in the air and the pencil flies across the room, hitting the teacher. May's face turns red.

"May Maple. Come with me to my office. NOW!" May awkwardly shuffles, bumping into a bunch of desk on the way to the teacher's office. She turns around and clasps her hands together, making a "I'm praying to Arecus to save me" gesture and I laugh.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"Drew! Let's go watch Gary's battle!" I yell across the room. Drew ignores me and Zoey gives an apologetic look.

"ANDREW HAYDEN! MR. ROSE LOVER WHO LOVES A GIRL NAMED M-" Drew runs over and drags me out the classroom, I giggle and loop my arm around his, pulling him close to me.

"May Maple huh." I whisper in his ear and he pushes me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You didn't deny your love yesterday!" I exclaimed, pulling him back in my death grip. "I'm going to need details of this later." I whisper harshly in his ear. He shivers in discomfort and I laugh, enjoying myself. We reach the**_ X_ **room, which is one of the many indoor pokemon battling areas in the school. All the pokemon battling rooms are very sleek, minilastic and modern. The _**X**_ room that we were in was pretty much black and white. There were no windows, just white walls, and black bleachers surrounding the battlefield, which was outline with black. Gary and Paul stood at opposite ends of the field in small boxes.

"We will now commence the battle." A voice boomed from the ceiling. Everyone became silent, excitement clawing the crowd.

"Gary Oak and Paul Shinji are here to battle, their observers will be the various professors and the pokemon battling instructor. Attacks that are directly aimed at the audience of the trainer will result in immediate corrective actions and the disqualification of the trainer."

The two of them flipped a coin, and Gary got the first move.

"This is a 6 on 6 battle, the battle ends when a trainer is out of usable pokemon. Begin!"

"Nidoqueen! Let's do this!"

"Ursaring. Stand by for battle."

A group of girls were screaming Gary's name, and the observers were furiously writing down notes. Drew rested his head on my shoulder and yawned.

"Drew, you don't want to watch?"

"No, I already know the outcome of this battle."

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

Paul won. There were shouts of objection and anger when Gary's last pokemon, a Blastoise, went down. Paul still had 3 pokemon left. He returned his Weavile, and walked towards the center. The two shook hands, and I could obviously see Gary shaking slightly. Paul radiated power, a hungry kind of power and walked away with his hands in his pockets. I wanted to go over him and compliment his battling skill, but Drew was heavily sleeping and I couldn't move.

Gary tries to fight his way through a crowd of fangirls all trying to throw themselves on him and offer false words of comfort. I text him and tell him that me and Drew will wait for him, but he texts back saying he wanted to be alone. I look at him and give him a sympathetic look, and he just shrugs his shoulders.

"Drew, wake up now."

Drew slowly gets up and flicks his hair to the side. "Who won?"

"Paul."

Drew dusted off his pants and stood up. "Our poor Gareth, he's probably shaking with anger and regret." We both look at Gary, seeing through his fake smile and casual touches that he was broken. Pieces of him were scattering all over the place like a smashed porcelain vase. He was empty, and needed someone to fill up his sadness.

Me and Drew walk our separate ways, back to our dorms.

"Leaf, are you here?" Silence answers me. Weird, she's usually in our room before me.

I take off my uniform and crawl into bed, ignoring the cries from my stomach. Cries aching for food, for something to fill myself up. I was like Gary, for some reason I was empty. Maybe because I was disappointed that I didn't get to talk to Paul.

I slap my face and pull the covers closer to my face.

"Just go to sleep" I muttered to myself and my calm voice lulled myself to sleep.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**A/N: The end! If you haven't noticed, this school is very very intense and harsh. They forced Dawn to evolve her pokemon! :( **

**Yaay! We finally get to meet Drew, Gary, Leaf and May. Idk if it's obvious, but this story will be leaning towards Ikarishipping, Contestshipping, OldRivalshipping and bits of Pokeshipping. But I think if they were really in high school, Drew Dawn and Gary would all hang out together, not the 8 of them. Drew and Gary both give off the "I'm popular and arrogant" kind of vibe, and Dawn is also another popular girl due to her bubbly yet confident personality. And Melody was just kind of thrown in there, but I mean it could be possible! But anyways, Drew, Gary, Dawn and Melody are your main, typical "popular" group. May is a klutz, and Leaf is a quiet girl who prefers books and silence over people. After all, the Leaf that this is based off of is from the FireRed Leaf Green game, WHERE SHE DOESNT TALK!**

**Like mentioned before, I do not see Dawn as a flirt. The way she acts towards Drew and Gary may seem like she's flirting to other people, but to herself and those two guys, it's just her personality. She's super friendly and bubbly.**

**The title of this refers to both Dawn's semi crush on Paul and Gary, and Drew's crush on May. **

**Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my story, it means a lot! Please review so I can make this even better. :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Inspirare

**A/N: Hey guys! It's finals week right now, so I apologize if this chapter seems rushed or if there are multiple grammatic errors (⊙﹏⊙✿). THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS BTWS IT REALLY MEANS A LOT TO ME I AM SO HAPPY RN!**

**MeliaAntiqua: Thanks! I was trying to make it as realistic as possible, and I'm glad that you think I did. Hope you like this chapter as well!**

**Sakura Touko: Thank you for thinking that! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**mednin (2): Thanks! Hope this chapter also has nice writing in it too haha**

**flower power: oh don't worry you'll get LOTS of ikarishipping. And thanks!**

**EEVEEpokemonDEDENNEdragonair24: Can I just say you have the longest username ever LOL. I was trying to depict the school as very rigorous and intense, which will show up later in the story. Oh yeah, she does! Thanks for catching my mistake. Hope you also like this chapter too!**

**SosoAndGlaceon21: Who knows? Maybe it will! (actually idk myself I haven't really planned out this story completely… whoops). And yes I agree with that too! But i think instead of hanging out they'd probably just sit ****next to each other in silence and tolerate one another. But majority of the time Paul would probably be training his pokemon and Leaf would be too (not in the same area, or maybe they will?) or reading a book.**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**inspirare**

_[in-spee-rar_]

verb (latin root for inspiration)  
1.  
**to breathe life into**  
2.  
**to instill something in the heart or mind of someone else**

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

****Chapter 3: Inspirare****

Okay, I think I should take back what I said earlier. September 12th, me and Paul didn't really collide. Nothing happened except we met each other, nothing destructive happened when we touched hands. Instead, I realized we were on a collision course for each other. Like two different planets attracted towards each other we were coming closer and closer until collision was inevitable. And in that collision debris and memories will fly, dust and sadness will suffocate us until we are nothing. Our planets would learn to cope and develop to become something greater.

It was now September 20th, and during that time Paul was in the back of my mind. I had more important stuff to focus on, like me and May's tag team performance, cheer practice, grades, training my own pokemon, and the overall stress from such a demanding school. So it wasn't really a surprise that I had forgotten my birthday.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWN!" Melody yells and tackles me as I'm getting breakfast. "I'm soooooOoOooOo glad to be your friend and sooooOoOoOoOoOo glad that you're here with me! You're the best!" Melody holds me in a tight grip, rubbing her face on my face. I giggle and playfully push her away.

"If you keep rubbing your face on me I'm gonna break out in pimples!" I tell her and she giggles and tackles me again.

"Can you move." A gruff voice behind me says. I turn around swiftly but Melody beats me to it.

"Excuse me? Can you wait? It's not like you're in a rush to get anywhere? Besides, it's fucking DAWN HIKARI'S BIRTHDAY! So if anyone should be moving, its you!" Melody half yells, poking the guy in the chest. My eyes slowly wonder up to the face of the voice.

Paul.

"Paul." I say, absentmindedly. He rolls his eyes.

"You better not be expecting me to grovel at your feet like half the school is now." He muttered darkly, glaring at me. I raise an eyebrow, but he ignores it and pushes me to the side. Melody yells at him

"HEY PAUL YOU DOUCHEBAG SHIT HEAD LAME ASS DICK SHIT FU-" I put a hand on Melody's mouth, but she continues to babble and make animated gestures at Paul's retreating figure.

"MELODY! STOP IT!" I yell at her, laughing at her expressions. She stops and smiles.

"Just looking out for my girl." She winks, drops a fruit parfait on my tray and we walk away. Melody sits next to Drew and I sit next to Gary.

"What took so long?" Drew asked with a mouth full of pancakes. Melody rolls her eyes.

"Some guy was being rude to our princess on her birthday."

"Oh shit." Drew and Gary said. I gave them a smile.

"Hey! No worries! I don't even know when you guys have your birthdays!"

"Hikari…." Gary said sympathetically. I give him a look.

"Gareth, chill. No need to worry or feel bad!"

But in my chest my heart was beating fast. Fast because Gary cared, because they both cared even though we've been friends for a year. My heart beat fast from the rush of seeing Paul, from hearing his voice, from looking into those dark, endless abysses that he calls eyes. My heart beat fast because today was my birthday, a celebration that I pushed through for another year.

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

"Happy Birthday!"

"Hey girl, happy birthday!"

"Dawn! Oh my gosh, happy birthday!"

"Happy happy happy birthday!"

"…happy birthday."

I smile widely, happy with all the attention and love I was getting from the people around me. Even people that I barely talked to wished me happy birthday! I was truly, truly amazed at everything that was happening. I went to my locker to drop off my books, and I turned around to see Melody with a big fat grin on her face.

"Hey princess, happy birthday." She hands me a small blue box and I take it slowly. Inside is a silver bracelet with a silver Cresslia charm, with blue sapphires for the eyes. I gasp.

"Melody… how did you?"

"Don't question, just accept the gift and love me." She said, giggling. I hug her and stare at the bracelet in shock.

"Seriously this is amazing. I'm not sure if I can t-"

"JUST TAKE IT!" Melody yells passionately and I laugh. She slips it on my left arm and shows me her left arm.

"Look, I have one with Lugia too. Now we're matching!" She clasps my hand and we walk down the hallways together, our melodious laughter echoing through out the hallway.

"WAIT! THY FAIR MAIDEN PLEASE DO NOT WONDER ANY FARTHER!" A voice cried. I stopped walking and Melody clenched my arm tighter and giggled.

"MISS HIKARI, PLEASE ACCEPT MY LOVE, CUPID HATH PIERCED MY HEART, AND I YEARN FOR YOU." A second voice hollers. I turn around, knowing the two voices.

Drew and Gary are sprinting, trying to see who can get to me first. Drew has a bunch of balloons, about 10-15 and Gary has a huge bouquet of gradacia flowers, the flower of Sinnoh. I laugh at them.

"You guys!" I run up to them and hug them tight, laughing still at their idiotic motions. The hallway is silent, everyones eyes on are us. Drew hands me the balloons first.

"Dawn, I know you love balloons, and pink, and Piplup and girly stuff and m-"

"Got it." I said, stopping him. He also pulls out a medium sized black box.

"Open later." I nod.

"Well… I'm poor now since the Prof doesn't send me money all the time, but here." He shoves the gradacia flowers into my face and the smell is overwhelming. It reminds me of home.

"101 Gradacia flowers to show graditude for one of my closest friends." Gary says softly, running his hand through his hair. "It's nothing compared to what everyone else got you, but I hope you like it."

I give him a big grin, hoping my smile will cover my red cheeks. "I love it."

Melody tackles us and hugs all of us somehow.

The sunlight enveloped us, warmth coming from outside and inside. In that moment, time seemed to stop. I was so content with everything that had happened in my life. To me, high school right now was like sitting at the beach and watching the sunset. The waves are not wreaking havoc, they're calm. The sun illuminates the brown sand and finds something good in them. These people were my sunset. They were bright and could turn something gross and flawed into something extraordinary and breath taking.

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

I was skipping down the illuminated hallways aimlessly, forgetting every 5 minutes that I had to go to my locker. I passed by a class, when a deep voice dragged my attention and pulled me towards the class. I perked my head in, and noticed Paul was giving talking about something.

"Time is an imprisonment." He said confidently, not muttering. I looked at him and say that his eyes were ablaze with interest with an underlying ray of power. He wanted the people in the class to be swayed by his opinion. A hand shot up.

"Time is a unit of measurement." A girl with thick brown hair said. I realized that girl was my roommate, Leaf. "Are you saying that you feel imprisoned by a useful, and well needed concept that humanity has constructed?" The class got silent, waiting for Paul's answer.

"That's a very naive point of view. You call time well needed, and that's why you are imprisoned by it." Murmurs run through the class like fire spreading through a vast field of grass. Another hand shot up.

"We aren't imprisoned by it! We just utilize it! With out time, how would we know when to go places? How would we know when to keep track of things? Important events, the history of our world… it would all be forgotten! Now, Paul Shinji, please explain to me why time is such a prison, something that hold you down so much you need to call it an imprisonment." Once again the class was silence. Paul clasped his hands and leaned forward.

"Time doesn't exist. Time is something that humans have constructed in order to control the passing and going around them. Yes, I will admit- it is good for keeping track of things. But time is not real. Minutes, seconds, years and days… They all last a certain amount of time, something we made up. Why do 60 seconds even make a minute? Why is one day 24 hours? Who decides how we control the world around us? We try so hard to control time when we forget that we are subjected to time, we rely on it so much we can't even think of a reality with no clocks, nothing to keep track of what is happening. " He took a pause and breathed in deeply.

"Think of it like this. On our planet, 1 minute is 60 seconds. But on other planets, 1 minute could be 100 seconds, meaning their days and years are entirely different right? They view our history different than we do theirs, us saying 1 am is completely different than their 1 am. A pokemon has no sense of time. They see life grow and die, but they don't have something to measure when all of this happens. They are subjects to the force of nature, not the controllers."

A hand shot up, but someone slapped that hand and it when back down. Paul smirked an continued.

"We are imprisoned by time. This unit of measurement controls us. How do we even know that this unit of measurement is legitimate? We could have a completely wrong sense of time. Because time is something that happens, something uncontrollable." He stood up and our eyes met. I gave a small wave and dashed towards my locker, heat flushing towards my face. I ran away fast, not even noticing the smirk on his arrogant face.

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

"Alright… Typholsion and Togekiss, spotlight!" I threw my poke balls in the air and my pokemon came out, ready for whatever was going to be thrown at them. I raised my head to May.

"Right! Wartortle and Blazeiken… you guys are up too!" Her pokemon came out quickly, with smiles and joy. They were obviously well groomed and taken care of.

"So for the first appeals round we can use Typholsion and Blazeiken… and then for the second appeals round we can use Togekiss and Wartortle?" May nodded in agreement.

"That's the plan!"

I returned Togekiss and she returned her Wartortle. "Well, this will be interesting. But that will make our appeal a lot more cooler."

"Y-yeah! We can do it!"

"Typholsion, Inferno!"

"Blazeiken, Flame Thrower!"

The two moves collided with each other, my blue flame and May's orange flame created a bright white light. Heat from the two attacks warmed me, more violently than the sunshine. This was harsh, this was brutal and so intense.

"Dawn! Cover your face! Focus!" May yelled from across the field. I nodded.

"Typholsion, shoot your flames up and spin!"

"You too Blazeiken!

Both pokemon spinned swiftly, the flames that once blinded us swirled around each other in a captivating fire whirlwind. I looked at my pokemon, seeing it wobble slightly and knew they couldn't last any longer.

"May, they can't last longer, we need to finish this!"

"Spin faster!" We both shouted, and once again the blinding white flames appeared. The heat returned, and I threw off my blazer and wiped my brow. The light seemed brighter now, and so intense I wanted to fall on the ground and hide. Our pokemon abruptly stopped, and the white flamed whirlwind had bits and pieces flew everywhere, but the flames scattered in a perfect circle, hiding our two pokemon but later revealing them standing tall and proud. The heat finally died down and I grabbed my blazer, missing the heat. I smiled at May.

That appeal was a demonstration of our pokemon's power. There were no sparkles, no rainbows or sunshine, just pure power. Our goal was to intimidate our audience, make them feel weak and give ourselves advantage in battle. She gave me a wicked smile.

"Let's do it again."

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

I ran across the campus, trying to make it to cheer practice on time. I had stayed a little too late with May and I would now face the consequences. Even if it was my birthday, I still couldn't afford to be late to practice. Harley, our coach, was very intense. I spotted a peck of lavender hair ahead of me, and new who it was already.

Before I could say anything or skillfully avoid Paul after that awkward moment today, he walked towards me with his hands in his pockets. I stopped in front of him.

"Please make this quick, I have cheer practice and I-"

"Shut up." He said aggressively. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, what's up?" I asked him, not sure what to do in the situation.

"Can you stop staring at me in the hallways?" I widen my eyes at him.

"I'm doing what?!"

"Was my sentence to advance for you?" He said dully, as if it was something he said all the time. "Stop. Looking. At. My. Face." I looked at his face, and those dark eyes pulled me in again.

"You're still looking!" He said, frustrated. "I've had 4 or 5 guys come up to me and push me around, asking if you and me had sex or something." I widen my eyes and pushed him away.

"What the heck?! Are you serious!?"

"It's so troublesome, you're so troublesome." He said, pointing a finger at me. "Just leave me alone!"

"Me? Troublesome? Sorry that you slightly peeked my interest!" I say harshly to him. He shows no expression, just a cold hard glare with those cold, dark eyes.

"Are you really getting annoyed by a simple comment? You're troublesome, get used to the harsh criticism!"

"You're troublesome!" I shout back, clenching my fist. A smirk appears on his face.

"Sh-shut up! Jerk!"

"Are you at a lost of words? Is this your first time being insulted? New flash, not everyone is your lap dog, like that girl Melody. Not everyone likes you! You are troublesome bitch!"

I glare at him, tears brimming in my face. He doesn't seem to show any remorse or empathy at all.

"You know, I just wanted to say that whatever you said in that class about time was very insightful. And I wanted to thank you again for helping me up that day, but I changed my mind." I wiped my eyes, smearing my mascara but at the moment I didn't give two shits. I looked at his eyes and pushed away from the gravational pull that they had. Paul was an enigma to me for the past week, but now I see that he was just a jerk. A cold hearted, irrelevant jerk.

"Fuck you." I whisper to him, and dashed to practice, not letting a single tear fall.

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

"Happy Birthday." Leaf muttered when I walked in, and went back to reading a book.

"Thanks." I turned to her, remembering the words Paul had told me.

"Hey Leaf, do people hate me?" She looks up with curiosity. We rarely talk.

"I'm not sure, I don't socialize if you haven't noticed." I rolled my eyes.

"No shit Leaf, but I mean the people you hang out with. Do they hate me?" She looked at me for a long time, trying to figure me out. When she couldn't find an answer she just sighed and pushed up her glasses.

"They don't know you Dawn, so no, they have no reason to hate you. Maybe they hate the person you seem to be, but no one hates you."

"Do you hate me?"

"I don't know you that well, so you really shouldn't care what I think."

"Leaf…."

"No, I don't. You're bearable." A knock came from the door.

"Thanks Leaf, I'll get the door."

"Okay."

I swung the door open and began to talk. "Melody I will not sneak out past curfew for y-"

"Save it troublesome." I look up to see the last person I wanted to see.

"Bye!" I say, closing the door. He puts his foot out, preventing me from closing the door.

"…What do you want? Did you not insult me enough early?" He rolled his eyes.

"That was merely an observation." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

"What do you want?" I ask again, now curious. "How did you even know this is my room…"

"Don't worry about it." He shoved a red spiral notebook in my hands.

"What is this?"

"You said you thought my writing was insightful? Here." I looked at the notebook, confused.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry, and I won't be saying it again. So just take the apology gift an-" I slapped a hand on his mouth and stepped outside. Surrounding both sides of the hall was a couple of members from the varsity football team. They looked shocked to see me.

"Boys… what are you doing here?" I ask in a sweet voice, extremely curious. One of the guys came up to me.

"We saw you crying when you were talking to him, and we gave him two choices… clearly he chose the right one."

"Which was?"

"Apologizing to you. Honestly, you shouldn't even talk to him. He's irrelevant Dawn. Don't waste your time on garbage." I gave him a look that told him to shut up.

"You guys can leave now, thanks!" I say, forcing a smile. The guy who came up to me winked and the whole team shouted happy birthday. Paul also tried to walk away.

"Not so fast, plum head." I grab his arm and turn him around. "Take this back, and sorry you had to go through that. I didn't mean it."

Paul turned back around, not happy with something. I didn't know what, but I assumed everything. When was Paul ever happy?

"Just keep it."

****(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)****

I sat down and opened the notebook. The moonlight lit up the room and I adjusted myself so I could get all of the light. I stayed up all night, reading Paul's notebook. He was a jerk, a douchebag, and I hated him. But reading his notebook I learned more about him and his pessimistic nature. Paul wasn't a black hole to me anymore, he was something else. Something intangible.

I grabbed a pen and a spare notebook and began to write about something that imprisoned me.

Paul.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**A/N: ALRIGHT THE POWER IS ABOUT TO GO OUT LIGHTS ARE FLICKERING AT MY HOUSE SO I'M GONNA KEEP THIS SHORT.**

**I apologize for the seemingly cliche part where the football team hounds Paul and forces him to do something, but stuff like that does and has happened, so I tried to make it not as cliche as possible. Also the whole "time" speech thing that Paul gave… idk what to say ****about that LOL but if you're curious you should look up stuff about how we don't really need time, or how time really is an imprisonment. Trippy stuff guys. And also I'm not really good at contest appeal stuff so I TRIED GUYS **

**HOPE YOU LIKE THE CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW! :) :) :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Covetous

**A/N: Sorry for the late upload guys! I had so much trouble with this chapter, and in the end it turned out to be primarily dialogue I've rewritten this chapter about 5 times as of now, so hopefully this one works out! Mainly, I've been having trouble starting again from where I've ended in the previous chapter, since I want smooth transitions. But on the bright side, I have 5 other chapters that have already been written and are ready to be posted, woohoo!**

**I will be uploading when I regularly do (Wednesday/Thursday every week) from now on! Sorry about this delayed chapter!**

/

**Sakura Touko: I agree with you too! If anything, Dawn is really naive and lives in this world where everything is perfect. But our friend Paul here is gonna wreck things for her :)**

**flower power: Thank you! And yes Melody totally is LOL. I'm glad you like Leaf :)**

**EEVEEpokemonDEDENNEdragoniar24: I always worry that I'm gonna spell your username wrong when I type it out hahha. Thank you! I figured since Paul does spend a lot of time by himself he has A LOT of time to think. **

**Eeveexme: Oh my Mew, thank you! That actually means soooooo much to me!**

**UniqueElla: Oh Paul is just being Paul, he doesn't hate her! (But thinks she's annoying as hell). Thanks, and I hope this update lives up to your expectations! :)**

/

**(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ** **Before I start, big shout out to_ InkPress_** **for giving me advice on how to write Misty so she isn't to OOC in this chapter and later on in the story. You guys should definitely check out her story ** **because its absolutely AMAZING! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ**

**ONWARDS WITH THE CHAPTER!**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**covetous**

_[ke-ve-tus_]  
adjective  
** or showing great desire to possess something, typically something belonging to someone else**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**Chapter 4: Covetous**

I put the pencil down, fingers shaking. I stayed up the whole night, rereading every word etched into Paul's notebook. Every perfect sentence, stringed together to tell a heart wrenching story that made me shed a few tears. His writing was so moving, and so tragic. I pitied him, and all the negative thoughts that brewed in his head. A churning poisonous concoction that was bound to make him go insane was planted in his brain. Yet, he seemed fine. His emotionless, non caring face gave no impression that there was sorrow flowing through his veins.

The sun had just began to rise, and Leaf groaned, annoyed with the sunshine.

I looked at the pencil in my hand. I couldn't write a single thing equivalent towards anything in his notebook. I couldn't draw either.

I was stuck.

Paul made me stuck.

Imprisioned if anything.

I didn't understand how he could write something like that, and I didn't understand why I couldn't be like that either. He was too pessimistic for me to understand.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

In the morning, I set out to find Paul, sit down with him and have him talk with me. I was intrigued by his writing, intrigued by him. Even though the football team bullied him on my behalf, I waited a week just for precaution and then put my plan in action.

In the morning, I grabbed a fruit parfait and dashed around the cafeteria, looking for Paul. I saw a million faces, million voices, and a million eyes staring at me, but none belonged to Paul. After what felt like decades, I spotted a blob of lavender and dashed towards it, red spiral notebook in hand.

"Paul!" I said, grabbing his sleeve. He looked at me and pulled away.

"C'mon Paul!" I said, running after him. "Wait up!" I yelled, seeing him pick up his pace. The door he tried to escape wouldn't budge and I grinned.

"Finally." I said, standing at an angle that wouldn't let him escape. I felt a little weird, chasing down a guy. If anything, it felt like I was the predator and he was prey. And since I caught my prize, I was going to enjoy it.

"Hi Paul!" He didn't say anything, just looked at me with his intense dark eyes. The pulling effect was gone, and I sighed in relief.

"I want to ask you a few questions about this notebook you have here." I said, waving it in front of his face. He looks at me, with no expression.

"Paul? You there friend?" I say jokingly, wiggling the notebook in his face. He looked at me, still without an expression. I stepped on his foot, hard.

"What the fuck?!" He yelled harshly. "Do you mind?"

"Um…do you even have a mind?!" I retort back "I've been trying to get your attention for the past 2 minutes and you just stood there like an idiot!"

"Ever figure I don't want to talk to you?"

"Ever figure that I don't care?"

"I'm not obligated to speak to you. You're a nuisance and a waste of time." I rolled my eyes. "And your troublesome."

"Funny how the only time you want to speak is when you're insulting people."

"Hn."

"Is all your good at insulting people?"

"Is all your good at being annoying?"

"I'm seriously going to punch you."

"Yeah right, you woul-" I punched him in the gut, lightly of course. He just looks at me and smirks. His arrogant smirk irritates the crap out of me.

"What the hell is that smirk suppose to mean?!" I said, stomping my foot and flailing my arms. He walks away.

"Wait! Come back here you plum head!"

What kind of predator was I? Letting my prey get away like that? I slid into an empty table and scarfed down my parfait, as if I hadn't had food for weeks.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

I walked towards English class with anger boiling in the pit of my stomach. I completely forgot to ask Paul, and he gave me that smirk! What the hell was that smirk suppose to mean?!

"Hey Dawn, I nominated you for homecoming court." A girl says, walking next to me in the hallway. I grin and pat her shoulder.

"Thanks!" I didn't remember her name so I dashed away from her, telling her I needed to get to class as soon as possible. She nodded her head in understandment. I felt horrible that I didn't remember her and I couldn't face that fear. Ursula pounces me in the hallways.

"Oh my Mew! I nominated you too!" She said, dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up drill head." She laughed.

"You know, this year I'm gonna win. And my date is going to be…. Paul." I widen my eyes.

"Paul?! Why him?!" She gave a sly smile.

"He such a mysterious guy _DeeDee_, it's kind of hot isn't it? Plus he has a really nice butt." She winked and I gave a groan.

"He's annoying. And a pessimistic." I told her. "Plus he's rude, likes to insult people and-"

"Dawn you're just jealous. I'm gonna beat you this year and have a smoking hot date!" She said, then ran to her locker. I walked into my class, jealousy creeping into my skin, and making its way through the my bones, flowing the opposite direction of my blood. My heart beat fast and I hated myself for it. Paul was a jerk, yet he was insightful. He was rude, but mysterious. He looked like a douchebag, but on the inside he was thoughtful. After all, he spends so much time with his thoughts that they probably consume him. And the fact that Ursula decided to go after something that I haven't even won yet irritated me.

I sat next to Drew and grabbed my** ****Astronomy****** book and began to study. We had a test today and I didn't have time to study since I poured in all my time and effort into painting my nails last night. I paid attention at the right moment and heard the teacher mention how we were going to partner up with the *****Creative Writing English***** class for peer editing. A girl named Misty came and sat across from me.

"Misty?" I ask myself, the name sounding awfully familiar. Misty sits down across from me and I look at her face for a long time. She has her fiery orange hair tied up in a side ponytail, and she blue green cerulean eyes look back at me, expecting and waiting for me to do something. I clasp my hands together and smile, remembering her.

"Misty! I remember you from last year!"

"You do?" She says, slightly amused. "You did swimming last year?"

"Oh no, not that!" I say lightly, waving my hands. "I don't really like swimming that much, chlorine isn't good for your hair you know."

Misty rolls her eyes ever so slightly. "How do you know me then?"

"Last year in english, there was that 500 word contest. You beat me in the girls section." Misty nods in her, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, that piece took me a while to write."

"Oh, I just did mine last minute!" I laugh and she doesn't look amused.

"So you got second without trying? You know there are people who worked really hard for that contest." Misty recounts softly, but her voice seems like she's on edge. I shrug my shoulders and flip my hair to the side.

"Oh well, guess they have to try harder. Besides, our teacher forced everyone to do it and I hated that teacher. So I BSed it for revenge, but it back fired on me." I laughed again and handed her my paper. "Don't worry, this was not done last minute!"

Misty grabs a red pen and I grab my Astronomy textbook. Misty puts the pen down.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, I'm gonna study?" I told up my book, as if it was obvious. Misty glares at me.

"Are you even going to take this seriously? Cause if not I'm not gonna grade your paper." I close my book and meet her eyes.

"Look, I don't really care right now. I need to study for this test, it's really important. You understand right?" I smile at her, hoping she sees it from my point of view. There's always a time when a student needs to cram in a couple of study hours in class due to the intense amount of homework we get each night. Misty slams my paper down on top of my book.

"If you're gon-"

"Drew!" I cut her off mid sentence, my attention being pulled towards my best friend who I noticed was not studying for Astronomy. We had the same teacher, just different classes. "Why aren't you studying?"

"I'm using this study guide I found online. Do you need?" I nod my head.

"Wait, I have it!" The guy next to Drew gets up and walks towards me, quicker than Drew.

"Nah dude, I got it." A girl next to me hands me the study guide and I thank her. Misty grabs the study guide out of my hand, nails clawing my skin. I grab the paper back.

"I'm sorry? Did I do something wrong?" I asked her, putting a hand on my hip. She looks at me up and down and scoffs.

"If you aren't going to take this seriously, I don't want to waste my time with you."

"I just need to study for a test, don't be so dramatic Misty!"

"You know, you can't always waltz through life without any aim or purpose." She said, glaring at me. If the class was quieter I could probably hear her growl. Like a Pyroar ready to pounce, she had her claws ready, her teeth bared and was on edge. Any minute now and she would unleash a flamethrower and burn me to a crisp with insults and demands.

"What are you talking about?! We've just met!" I said, my voice rising with every word, I stand up and point at her, beating her to the pounce. "Who do you think you are?!" I yell at her, and the class gets silent. All eyes are on us.

"Who do you think you are?!" Misty quickly retorts back, anger and frustration spilling from her body.

"Just because I can BS something last minute, or take time to study during class doesn't make me a bad person!"

"No it does. Because you hold no value in things people care about!" Misty now stands up and points at me, her finger touching right in between my collar bone.

"Y-"

"Alright, enough!" The teacher finally steps in and pulls me away from Misty. I keep my eyes locked on her and she does the same. "Misty you're going to be partners with Chris over here." Misty crosses her arms and walks over to Chris, her eyes never leaving me. Chris' partner walks over to me.

"Paul. "

The bell rings, awaking me from my angry slumber that Misty put me in.

"Edits are due tomorrow!" I turned to Paul, panicked. "Hey, when can w-"

"8:00, marble fountain in the west wing." He picks up his stuff and leaves. I look at his retreating body in shock.

"THERE ARE 50 DIFFERENT MARBLE FOUNTAINS YOU PLUM HEAD!"

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

Paul told me to meet in the West Wing, which is where all the girl's dormitories are located. Me and Leaf had the benefit (sometimes an annoyance) of having our dorm be located on the 8th floor, the second highest floor in our building. It gave us a majestic view of the school, and the city beyond. The sun was long gone, it was just the cold moon and the distant stars. Judging from how the trees swayed I could tell it was slightly windy.

"Leaf, I'm going out."

"With Paul?" I turn to her quickly.

"How do you know that?"

"I was there when you and Misty had that huge blow out." I put my hand through my hair, nervous and annoyed.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting your in that class. Anyways, I'm out!"

"Okay."

I changed out of my shorts and into a pair of leggings, and grabbed a jacket. Zipping up the jacket I ran down to meet him.

"You're here."

"I didn't really have a choice."

I handed him my papers, and he handed back all but one of them.

"I can't edit them all in one night, I need time." He got up to leave but I pulled him back down.

"Troublesome…"

"You need to be here so that I can watch you edit and here all your remarks. "

He sighed, annoyed. "Whatever." I cheered and clanged onto his arm, similar to what I would do with Drew or Gary. He pushed me away and turned away, not facing me. I looked at him for a while, and realized under that mop of purple hair his face was red. Very red. I laughed.

"Are you not used to being this close with a girl or something?" I said jokingly.

"Fuck off." I laughed again and laid on the grass looking at the stars. I held my hand out and tried to grasp the twinkling lights in front of me. The silence between me and Paul put me on edge.

"You know, you chose a really nice meeting spot. A marble fountain! Really Paul? Do you know how many marble fountains are in this school?! I could've spent hours searching for you." Paul doesn't say anything, just mumbles words under his breath and spins the red pen in his fingers absentmindedly. "Hey P-"

"Shut up."

"Hey! I don't like silence, and it feels awkward with you." I turned to Paul waiting for him to say something, but instead he just looks at me, sighs and looks back at my paper.

"I could read to you all the crap that you wrote in this. Did you do this last minute too?" He taunted, referring to what happened today with Misty. I punch him on the shoulder, hard.

"Are you really on her side on this?"

"No."

"Great! So you agree with me!"

"No."

"What do you mean."

"Frankly, I don't care about either of you, so I won't get involved."

I pouted, crossed my arms and fell back on the grass again. What a jerk.

I closed my eyes and tried to get used to the silence. It felt weird, not having someone's voice constantly echoed around me, words going out of my mouth and into my ears. Silence is scary. Nothing haunts anyone more than the words they didn't say. Silence also means emptiness. It means that there is a void, that nothing is happening. Silence is one step away from nothing. It's one step away from the absence of everything, and that's what really scares me. I hate being alone, and I hate having to feel so vulnerable in front of the last person I want to see my flaws or think I have some irrational fear and use it against me.

"Pa-"

"Stop thinking that silence is something that needs to be filled. It's impossible for anything to truly be silent." He looked at me and sighed again, like a father sighing at the failure of their kid. "Listen to the silence and find the voice."

"What voice?"

"Literally, I need you to shut the fuck up and listen."

"Jerk."

Paul didn't retort back as usual. And I sighed and closed my eyes again, my own stars dancing in the darkness I had created for myself. I clutched the grass, still on edge that no one was talking and listened carefully. Faint, but I heard the trees warming their hands. shaking their leaves together furiously and the Shinx and Krikitune rustling through the tall grass. The Starly chirped. The wind brushed against everything, moving the grass, trees, and the clouds. I opened my eyes and looked at the stars and wondered about the people there. Do they close their eyes, open their ears and listen to the world around them?

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**A/N: The title, covetous, is drawn from the word possessive. Through out this chapter, predator/prey metaphors have been dropped all over the place. Ex: When Dawn corners Paul, Ursula claiming Paul, Misty and Dawn fighting...**

** And there you go! Honestly, this chapter feels a little awkward to me, and if you have suggestions please help me out! This is my first story after all, and the amount of honest and kind reviews I've received is great, but I would love to get some criticism about my story so I can improve. I pretty much barely survived AP English, so my writing skills suck a lot.**

**Putting that aside, IKARISHIPPING EVERYWHERE! :) I owe it to you guys, since I haven't uploaded in a while after all. Apologizes for all a bunch of talking and conversation in this chapter, but hopefully you get a little more insight on Paul, Dawn and Misty!**

**Speaking of Misty, any thoughts on her? Just an explanation, Dawn reminds Misty of her sisters. Dawn is attractive and talented, yet puts in little to minimal effort for things. Like Misty's sister's she doesn't really need to try to get recognition for the things she does. Misty has always need to fight for attention with her sisters, which is something she puts in a lot of effort to. The fact that Dawn does not take this class seriously and the whole essay contest really sets Misty off and enrages her. ****Misty is a fire; aggressive, powerful, and destructive while Dawn is like water; she can be a nice calm river but can easily turn into an aggressive torrent. The two of them will clash often. Personally I do believe that Misty and Dawn will not get along right away due to their differences, but it's always possible! :)**

**(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づMAJOR THANKS AGAIN TO_ INKPRESS_ FOR HELPING ME GET MISTY'S CHARACTER ON POINT AND NOT HAVE HER BE SUPER OOC. I OWE THAT EXPLANATION THAT I JUST TYPED UP ABOVE TO HER. YOU'RE THE BEST! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ**

***In some schools (like the one I go to), English classes are focused on one topic rather than a huge range that would be typically covered. Ex: At my school some of the english classes offered are- Epic and Myth, American Literature, Film as Literature, Science Fiction, etc **

****Astronomy as a science class cause why not? It's an intense, overachieving boarding school it can do whatever it wants LOL**

**Please review, feedback is needed! (Especially for this crappy chapter SORRY)**

**Thanks for reading! :) :) :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Tǎntè

**A/N: And now I'm back to updating regularly! Woo hoo! Thank you so far for all your kind reviews and all the favs/follows. As a n00b writer like myself, I am so so sooo glad and extremely happy to get these kind of reviews, or any in general! You guys are the best man. **

**It's the new year as I'm typing this, and sometimes I wish that I started this story earlier so that the chapters would reflect the season now and I wouldn't have to think super hard how to describe the seasons, since it'll be happening already. But happy new year guys! :)**

**/**

**Gogoat: OMG THANKS MAN! :) :) And yes! You get to meet Ash in this chapter actually! THE S.S IKARI HAS SET SAIL THE DAY PAUL WAS INTRODUCED LEMME TELL YOU WHEN I SET EYES ON THAT PLUM HEAD I KNEW HE WAS PERF FOR MY BBY GIRL DAWN (this is no lie and these are the ****exact words I said 5 years ago). Also other ships that have set on an endless voyage long ago was the S.S Poke and S.S Contest(shipping), those two are not coming back anytime soon they WILL KEEP SAILING INTO THE SUNSET~~~ My brother is a die hard amour shipping guy, but I haven't watched the Kalos region episodes, or played the game so I have no say in that.**

**Sakura Touko: Hahah thank you! And happy new year (late) to you too!**

**flower power: No worries! She'll be here.**

**InkPress (4): :) your reviews totally made my day, and if this response is super messy and all over the place i apologize! At the start, it's his eyes. Being surrounded by usual joyous people and having a good life, Dawn is surrounded by happiness and brightness, which Paul isn't. And YES i have a huge problem with tenses and I totally overuse the Paul line. Although I am the one writing this fanfic, I let Dawn's character steer the story and talk about what's important to her, which is why there was so much time spent on the uniform! Paul has a back story, but bits and pieces will be revealed through out the fanfic. And no problem about the shout out! I'd do it anytime haha**

**/**

**WE SET ON A LONG VOYAGE TOWARDS IKARISHIPPING LAND. **

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**tǎntè**

_[?_]  
adjective  
1.  
**mixture of feeling uneasy or worried, as if you can hear your own heart beat**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

It was now early October, and autumn was in full effect. The leaves were red and brown, warm hues that were illuminated by the golden sun. The sunrises and sunsets were longer and more vivd. Vibrant bright lights and a torrent of swirling colors was splashed across the sky everyday Autumn was mother nature's way to accept her inevitable death. She sits back, and accepts the highs and lows in life. Before she falls subject to her darkest time, she reminisces and remembers all the joy and triumph she felt before. The warm hues of her accomplishments, and the everlasting sunsets and sunrises of her dreams. Because she knows that after winter, she'll be reborn into something greater and even more extraordinary.

But we, as a species, we have trouble getting back up when we're pushed down. We tend to be… pessimistic. It's funny how one word, just one simple word, can bring you down more than 100 words would ever bring you back up. Why does that difference even exist? Why do we forget that flowers get stepped on all the time, but get back up and keep growing until they reach their fullest potential? We act like words rip us from the roots, and no matter how much sunshine or rain there is to help us, we can't get back up.

I had Gary, Drew and Melody to lift me back up, and I would do the same for them. They- We were each others sunshine that melted our worries and sorrow from a cold winter. But what about others? May? Leaf? Ursula? Paul? Even Misty? Who did they have?

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"Yo yo yo yo what's up my home skillets? Swag swag swag bitches!" Melody says, dropping her breakfast tray and crossing her arms in what she thought was a "ghetto gangster pose". Me and Drew look at her with wide eyes.

"Melo-"

"YO YO YOOOOO BRUH! My name be young trap lord melz aight? Chill my homies, and pass me the joint." She holds out her hand and Gary comes out of no where, slapping her hand. Melody screams in pain.

"That hurt you douchebag!"

"Well, it got you out of your horrible imitation of… whatever you were trying to do." I said, using my spoon to point at her accusingly. She gave a grunt and sat down.

"I have auditions today for fall play, and I checked to see what my test was. I had to act like I was a gangster." Melody said, fixing her hair. "AND I NEED TO GET THIS MAIN ROLE! This year there are sooooooOoOOo many people going for it! Like that new girl, May…." Melody said, clutching her water bottle tightly, making it creak and groan. Drew raises and eyebrow and I giggle.

"What's wrong with May?" Drew asks, beating me to the question. I give him a sly smile and his ears turn red.

"She is my competition, Andrew Hayden. We were always competing for first in choir last year, freshman year. And this year, her and I were the only sophomores who passed the Music Theory test and were allowed to take the class. It should've been just me! I've been studying music since I popped out the womb!" Melody drops her head to the table, defeated. A few minutes later she raises her head and sighs.

"At least I have one good thing in my life." She mutters.

"Me?" I ask happily

"Dick?" Gary says jokingly

"A bitchy attitude?" Drew says half joking. She glares at all three of us.

"No, no and no. Remember that one guy I mentioned? Ash Kecthum!" Melody clasps her hands and gave a longing sigh. "He's a pure light in this dark world."

"Gross, Ashy boy? Didn't I tell you not to date scum from Pallet Town?"

"Are you calling yourself scum?" Drew says, flicking his hair. Gary groans.

"Melody he's an idiot. He's actually really stupid." Melody glares and Gary, but then looks at me. "Don't you guys have math class together?" I drop my head to the table, I hated math!

"Yeah… we do." Me and Ash were actually good friends. He had a great personaltiy, and like Melody said, he really was a pure light in this dark world. He was always motivated and inspired to do great things and help others around him, even if it was his weak point.

"Help me out! Say good things about me!"

"Aren't you forgetting that Dawn and Ash won homecoming court last year, aren't you guys competition?" Melody widen her eyes and grabbed my shoulders.

"Dawn I love you but I NEED ASH IN MY LIFE OK I LOVE HIM DEARLY!" She said, shaking my body back and forth. I giggle at her animated actions.

"No need to worry Melody! I don't want to win for homecoming anyways." Melody hugs me tightly.

"So you'll help me out right?"

"Of course."

The way Melody casually throws out the word love made me envious. Did she really love Ash? Was every blush, every sigh of admiration, every morning that she ranted to me about the way he battles, the way he talks, his smile, his laugh, was that really love? I thought about it hard, and thought how I would feel if someone felt that way about me. Heat rose to my cheeks. Melody was in love, she had to be.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

My first class of the day was Math. I hated math with a burning passion in my soul, because it was difficult and because I hated it. I was so bad at math that I was behind a year, so majority of the students in my class were freshman. But lucky for me, I had Ash and Ursula with me.

"Why do I need to know the equation for a circle?! Who cares about circles?!" Ursula mutters bitterly, scribbling on a piece of graph paper.

"Wait, so the center of a circle goes where in the equation?" I ask to myself, nibbling on the end of my pencil. It was a bad habit of mine. I drop my head onto the book. Ash pats my head.

"Hey now, you got this! Just keep trying, you'll get there!" Ash smiles at me and I grin back.

"Alright! I can do this!"

"Yeah you can!"

"Ugh, you two are such idiots you know. This is totally useless." Ursula twirls her already perfect curls in her fingers. "Say you two, are you going to make your big comeback at homecoming?" My face turns red, remembering how awkward it was winning homecoming court as a freshman with Ash. Ash also seems a bit nervous.

"Ursula, you al-"

"C'mon drill head, me and Ash weren't a thing when we won, and we still aren't a thing now." I turn to Ash, looking for his support. "Right Ash?"

"Yeah, what Dawn said!"

"So you can take Paul or whoever and win." A sly smile spread across my face. "Although you probably won't be able to take Paul."

"Is that a bet?"

"You bet it."

"I can totally do it."

"Nope, you won't be able to." I winked at her. "If you do, we can trade cheer positions. I'll lift you up instead."

"I don't need that, just proving you wrong would be enough _DeeDee_."

We grin and shake hands. The bell rings and I get up to get my stuff. Ursula leaves, so I walk with Ash to my next class, and we're talking non stop. Ash is a good guy, he's nice, funny, and a little dorky.

"Listen, about homecoming..."

"Oh, yeah actually about homecoming..." I already know what he's going to say, so I beat him towards it.

"Listen, homecoming was awkward last year for the both of us. And I know that doesn't define our friendship now, so I'm not worried about that."

"Good! Cause I w-"

"And if we were in that situation again, it wouldn't be awkward, but the thing is I know someone who would definitely be a better option to go with than me. Go with Melody."

"Melody?" Ash says, contemplating the decision. He smiles. "Yeah sure!" I grin and hug him tightly.

"Thanks Ash!" I hold out my phone and give him me and Melody's numbers, just in case he needs to contact us later on. "See you around!"

"Yeah, see ya."

There's a longing look in his eyes, and he seems slightly in pain. It's almost as if the words he didn't say are choking him, the actions he didn't take are leaving bruises.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

I walked into English class not expecting much. We were still combined with the other english class for peer editing purposes, but other than that I didn't really care. Even if the she-devil crazy red head Misty was there, ready to attack me on how "I didn't value" or how "I didn't take this seriously", it was nothing that I would worry about. For reasons I wouldn't know, she probably has some motivation for doing that.

I slide in my seat next to Drew and motion Paul to come over. He sits down and Drew looks at him. I left a little early from our peer edit, so I had no idea what Paul marked on my paper.

"Hey man, great battle against Gary by the way." Drew says, flicking his hair as per usual. Paul nods.

"It was nothing." He hands me my paper, and it's scribbled with red ink everywhere. I widen my eyes.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting this much." I smile at him and he just frowns. I look at the paper again, reading over all the suggestions Paul wrote in clean neat writing.

"You have nice handwriting by the way." I mumble, eyebrows scrunched and eyes still focused on my paper. He doesn't say anything.

Majority of my mistakes were short, but that's my writing style. I look up at him again. "I don't agree with some of these changes. The short sentences are just how I like to write."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't."I rolled my eyes.

"This was a free write, maybe you should've paid more attention to my word choice than my sentence structure." I hand him back the paper. "Can you help me with that?"

He hands it back to me. "Take it or leave it."

"I don't understand why you're being so frustrating! Just edit my paper properly." I push the paper back to him, touching his chest. He grabs the paper from my hands.

"Look, you're writing about distance. S-"

"So what does that have to do with anything?" Paul groaned, annoyed that I interrupted him in the middle of his sentence. He looks at the paper and reads a sentence.

"The universe was expanding. Planets were growing father away from each other, and so were we." Paul looked up at me. "You're talking about distance growing and increasing, yet it's not reflected in your writing at all. If this is something that, and I quote 'nature can't fight, but learns to accept.' your writing is also subject to this." I look at him with wide eyes and grab my paper back, slowly.

"I-you-yeah." I say breathlessly, amazed at Paul's way of thinking. "Yeah, I see what you're saying."

He smirked, and whatever admiration I had was pulled away and tossed to burn. I rolled my eyes and looked at the paper again.

"Don't get too cocky now, plum head."

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"Togekiss, Aura Sphere!" A bright blue light appeared, temporarily blinding me and May, as well as our audience. I grinned. Just cause I was a coordinator doesn't mean my pokemon lack power. After all, coordinators are pokemon trainers first.

"Blazekien, Blaze Kick!" Togekiss releases her blue orb and Blazekien jumps up and kicks it with its fiery leg. The orb turns white for a spilt second, and quickly flies towards our opponents. Both of them are down.

"The winner for this contest are- May Maple and Dawn Hikari! They will be moving to the final round." I grin and squeal in joy, running up to May and hugging her. She hugs me back equally as tight. Togekiss comes down and picks the both of us up, tossing us in the sky. When we finally get down, Drew walks over.

"Nice work Dawn. You too, April."

"It's MAY!" I giggle at the two of them. He gives May a rose.

"For your Beautifly."

"Yeah, right. My Beautifly." May rolls her eyes but smiles after and thanks Drew. Drew turns around and walks away, so May doesn't see his red face. I grab May's hand.

"Let's hang out and celebrate!" She widens her eyes.

"You want to hang out with me?" I hold on to her hands tighter.

"YES! Come on we need to shop for our outfit for the final round. And we can talk strategy!" I pull her close. "And we can talk about boys to." I wiggle my eyebrows and gesture towards Drew. She playfully slaps my shoulder.

"Ew! Not him!"We return our pokemon and I drag her away from the class, towards the bus stop. Sadly, we don't have cars but the school is located near a couple of buses that will get you anywhere.

We talk non stop about our upcoming final contest, and we've already planned out what pokemon we're going to use and what appeals we're going to do. When we get to the mall, our eyes light up. May drags me through every single store, commenting on how nice everything looks and rubbing her fingers all over the material. I wave her my debit card but she just tells me to wait until its time.

"Time for what?" I question.

"DAWN JUST WAIT FOR THE TIME." She looks at me aggressively and mutters the words underneath her breath. I laugh and this time I drag her towards the store I usual go to when I buy dresses. We begin to search.

"What pokemon are we using again?" She ask, her head popping in between two frilly dresses.

"I'm using Piplup, you're using Beautifly right?"

"Oh yeah! Maybe we should go for something that reflects our pokemon? Do you think this store sells wings?"

I laugh and May chimes in as well. "You're such an idiot sometimes."

"But I'm your partner, so I'm your idiot." She says proudly. "Be proud of this idiot."

"Yeah yeah whatever Maple."

"Seriously though, the wings could work!" She says again, sarcastically.

"That means you need roses right? Since Drew always gives you roses and everything." She glares at me and hides behind a dress made of chiffon. I grin, happy that I'm steering the conversation to a very important topic.

"C'mon May! I think we both know those roses have to mean something right?" She pops out in front of me this time, her red face in between two vibrantly bright green dresses.

"It's nothing! Drew is just a rival Dawn. Besides, aren't you guys dating?" I widen my eyes and run up to her, dragging her from the dresses.

"Who told you that?!"

"It's a rumor. It's either you and Drew are a thing, or you and Gary." I slap my head.

"Drew is like a brother to me, honestly. He may be a douchebag, but he can really be supportive at times."

"And Gary?" She asks, picking up a dress and examining it.

"Gary is... attractive." I say, breathing in and out deeply. "He's a funny guy too. But him and me... I don't think that would really happen."

"Why not?"

"Gary is into... one night stands if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, I've heard some things."

"I want to know that what I think love is is the real thing. I want to experience the exhilarating, blissful moments that I've grown accustomed too, and with Gary I don't think I'll be able to find that." She looks at me with wide eyes, like I've broken the fourth wall or something.

"You're an interesting girl, Miss Hikari." I smile at her.

"But you know what's more interesting? You and Drew?"

She groaned and threw a fluffy dress and me. "He's such a jerk to me!"

"May, you know I'm Drew's friend. Do you really think I would be pushing for this to irritate him?" She looks at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, I would just to irritate him for fun, but still! If there was nothing between you and Drew I'd burn those roses for you."

May gave me a smile, one that broke my heart to pieces. It was so fake, yet so heart wrenchingly beautiful. Her rosy cheeks were flushed, her sky blue eyes set ablaze with confusion and sadness and her focus was on the past. "I don't know what to think Dawn."

"Then let me help you."

"Will you hear what I think about it?" I study her carefully, and let her words sit in the air. My heart pounds, because I know whatever she has to say will change something, whether it be big or small, change is inevitable with May Maple. Because on the outside she can be a strong, carefree and head strong girl but she can quickly change to be a lost girl who needs support.

"Yes."

I was beginning to see May in a new light, and I couldn't help but wonder why Melody could despise this girl so much. Or why Drew hadn't made any more advances towards this girl.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**A/N: Title refers to the overall change that occurs. Big changes that take place over long periods of time, like the seasons, and small changes that will snowball into something ****colossal- like May and Dawn's friendship and May's view of Drew. People are not always willing to accept change, or embrace it. They usually go against it or try to reverse the change that takes place- thus the title. The feelings associated with not agreeing and accepting change. IDK how to pronounce it (I don't speak any other languages than english). If you're curious of the word, here's where I got it from (and where I generally get some of my words)- ** .vu/post/104405815246

**YAY! May and Dawn are good friends. Just an explanation on their whole contest scenario: It's more of a tournament, to see who will be the best in their class. Dawn and May have gone through about 7-8 different contests to reach finals, meaning they had to make 7-8 different appeals! Of course, there are other pokemon coordinating classes since this is such a big school, so they haven't really reached "finals" yet. There are about 4 other different coordinating classes, so they still have a while to go. :)**

**Dawn is now stuck between wanting to be mean to May because of Melody, and also she questions the way Drew approaches May. May is pulling her into a new light, a different view from her close knit circle.**

**Like always, reviews would be great! I'm definitely looking for some feedback from you guys.**

**Thanks for taking the time to read this. :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Orenda

**A/N: Can I just say that school is such a drag right now and even though I have few classes, the amount of responsibility from clubs and extracurriculars is bringing me down sooo much, and it might be reflected in my writing. If you see any errors, point them out!**

**BUT WOW CHAPTER 6 ALREADY?! I still remember writing that first chapter out of bitterness (reminder that this story sprung from my own horrible and bittersweet high school love) and then I was like "you know, I feel that Dawn would feel what I would feel, ya feel?" AND THIS STORY WAS BORN! Ahhhh, the memories. :)**

**/**

**Sakura Touko: Thank you for always reviewing the sweetest things! **

**Gogoat: omg he totally freaked and so was I because HELLO ASH AND MISTY 5EVER! I was screaming in rage and he was screaming in joy.**

**flower power: Yes I'm so glad you agree I love writing bits of their friendship it's so much fun haha. And you'll see what happens! I don't want to give anything too dramatic away!**

**/**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's a little short, but nonetheless as important as the others. **

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**Chapter 6: Orenda**

**orenda**

_[aw-ren-da_]  
noun  
1.  
a supernatural force believed by the Iroquois Indians to be present, invarying degrees, in all objects or persons, and to be the **spiritual forceby which human accomplishment is attained or accounted for**  
2.  
extraordinary invisible power believed by the Iroquois Indians to pervade in varying degrees all animate and inanimate natural objects as a transmissible spiritual energy **capable of being exerted according to the will of its possessor**  
**3.**  
**a mystical force or the power of human will to change the world around us. It is an opposing force to fate or destiny. **

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

In Greek mythology, there were the Fates. The Fates were 3 women who were in charge of… your fate. A string was used to represent your fate, one woman would decide when you were born by spinning the string. Another would decide how long your string should be, apportioning the amount of time you should get. Lastly, the third woman would cut the string, ending your life. According to the Greeks, for years and years the Fates would do this, watching the string grow and waiting for the sharp scissors to end the life quickly.

In Japanese and Chinese legends, everyone has the red string of fate. That string is tied to another person, your soul mate. You can tangle that string, try to break it, but in the end you will be pulled towards that person and you will be with that person.

So where does that leave us? Two different stories, one about life and death, the other about love. They're two different concepts, two different strings on with opposite objectives right?

The point is, your love life and your fate are intertwined to the point where they are the same string. Your love is apart of you life, and even when the fates cut it they can't cut your love. Because that string is unbreakable.

But what happens when you get a phony red string? Or when your string touches with another, intermingles, and becomes tangled to the point where you can't separate them?

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

Drew started it, but it wasn't like it was his fault. Our strings didn't connect at first, but he provided the missing link that would surely entangle us. I wasn't expecting much to happen that day, I was only searching for answers about May and hoping that the blazing sun would stop being so bright and too warm. It was overwhelming and too intense for 7 in the morning.

I looked around the cafeteria for May, hoping that we'd continue our conversation from yesterday. Talking to May was eye opening, because she showed me how everyone else views my group, and how sheltered I'd been from the truth. From Melody's abrasive nature, to Drew's cocky attitude, things that I had grown accustomed to and accepted put other people on edge. I couldn't find May, so I set out for my usual group of friends.

"Morning everyone!" I chirp, in a good mood. "Where's Drew?" I ask. I needed answers. Why did he act like such an egotistical jerk towards May all the time?

"Grasshead said he needed to do something beforehand, but didn't say what." Melody said, before stabbing her scrambled eggs. I opened my mouth to ask her about her hostility towards May, but Gary opened his mouth before I could form a sentence.

"It looked pretty urgent though, he seemed nervous." Gary said. We made eye contact and I blushed. The sun was shining on him, making him look illuminated and absolutely breathtaking. I swiftly turn to face Melody.

"Maybe we should find him? He might need our help. After all, when is Drew nervous?" I suggest, slightly worried. Drew has an ego that sometimes surprises Gary's, so him being nervous is not an option. Melody nods in agreement, and her and Gary get up. I follow them.

"Nice hair clips, by the way." He said, pointing at my golden clips. I blushed and touched my hair.

"Th-Thanks."

Melody stops, and we stumble into her. I yelp in surprise, but Melody slaps her hand on my mouth.

"Look…" Melody pointed to Drew, who was in an intense conversation with a very plain looking girl with thick brown hair, thick glasses, and a thick stack of books. She wore white knee high socks and a pair of black high top converse. Her skirt was pulled down, almost to her knees and touching her socks. Her shirt was not ironed, and poorly tucked in. Her black blazer was stuff into her huge backpack.

"Leaf." Me and Gary say at the same time. I look at him, confused as to how he knows her, but he doesn't meet my gaze and continues to stare at Leaf. For some reason, this unnerved me. Melody shrugged her shoulders, not really caring who it was that she was looking at. Right now, her attention was focused on Drew. His fists were clenched tight, his body was shaking and his breath was short.

"You mean to tell me… you knew all this time?! And not once did you approach me?!" Leaf nodded, and Drew punched the lockers.

"I was asked not t-"

"BULLSHIT!" He screamed, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. Her books fall to the floor and her glasses tip off her nose. "Give me one reason why you shouldn't tell me that we-"

"Look, I get you're mad, and that you miss your mother and everything, but it's not like I'm in any position to tell you this. If I walked up to you, in the middle of the cafeteria, or during class, and told you this… you wouldn't believe me." Leaf takes Drew's arms off her shoulder.

"I'll be keeping in touch with you." Leaf says.

"Please."

Leaf walks away, and Drew drops to the ground sobbing. The three of us run up to him, not asking any questions until he was ready to give us answers. Drew latches onto me, sobbing silently, anger and sorrow racking his body through violent shakes and hiccups. Gary rubs his back and Melody pats his head. I needed answers, but right now Drew needed us.

He needed me.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

Drew and I didn't go to homeroom or first period. We decided to hang out in one of the school's garden, Elysium, an abundant garden with marble fountains, fruitful trees and flowerful bushes. Bird pokemon and bug pokemon alike resided here in joy and comfort, a refugee from the city smoke. Drew and I laid in the grass, soaking up the sun and listening to the silence, a peaceful melody that Drew needed. I did my best to keep silent, but I couldn't.

"My mother is Leaf's aunt, we're cousins." Drew said with a shaky voice, beating me to my question. "Last month, my mom left home. I never told anyone because me and my dad thought she would come back."

"But she didn't." I whispered. I could hear Drew's head shake up and down, rustling the grass.

"She left, and went to Leaf's dad, her brother. She's been living with them the whole time."

"Leaf Green is your cousin?"

"Yeah."

"I guess I can see it."

"Really..."

"Same eye color, thick hair, same facial shape." I got up and pinched his cheeks. "Well, it would be the same if you had less baby fat." I giggle and Drew slapped my hands away. A small smile was etched delicately on his face.

"Listen... Your mom left for a reason right? There's a reason for everything, so there's no need to worry! Everything will be explained in the end." Drew looked up to me and took my hand.

"Thanks Dawn." He said softly. Drew's hands were warm and soft, and they fit perfectly into my own. I tried to pull away, just because I could, but my hands refused to move. With Drew just imply holding my hand, I felt so safe. And with the way the sunlight fell onto his green hair and reflected off his emerald green eyes, I decided to clutch his hand tighter and prayed that Dialga would slow down time so I could stay here longer with someone who felt so safe and warm. Our eyes met, and I didn't pull away. After all the conflict and strange vibes I got from Paul or Misty, and even Ash, it was nice to have someone that could give me the safeness and security that I would at home.

Drew looked away first, but still held my hand. I cleared my throat. "Can I ask you questions about May?"

"Your new best friend?" He joked lightly, with some hostility in his voice.

"You know, why do you act like such a jerk around her? If you acted the same way you did with me or Melody, she'd be swept off her feet and into your arms." I said, holding his arm tight.

"Are you swept of your feet by me?"

"No bu-"

"Listen Dawn, I don't want to talk about this right now." I pouted, but wouldn't let the subject drop.

"Drew c'mon!"

"Dawn, no."

"Drew!"

"DAWN!" Drew yells at me and lets go of my hand, throwing it. "Listen, right now I need you to be here for me, not attack me and change the subject. For once, help me get through a problem, like I always do for you. Be my safe space." I widen my eyes and stay silent. Drew needed me, yet I needed answers.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

Leaf walks in, and I can't look at her the same. Her smile, her voice, her laugh, it's all so similar to Drew. Her hair, her eyes, her face shape, it's the same as Drew. I grab and pillow and slam it into my head.

"Hey Leaf."

"Hey..." Leaf drags on the words, and I have a feeling something else is going to be said. I bring down the pillow I had attached to my face.

"What do you think of me now?"

"Now?"

"Before and after."

"Hm." I clear my throat and move around in my bed, unsure of how to answer the question.

"Brutally honest." I smile at her.

"I would never give you anything less than that." I put my finger to my chin and think really hard. An idea pops into my head and I point at her. "I think you're efficient."

She tilts her head to the side, curious of whatever words are going to come out of my mouth.

"You only talk when needed, and you waste no time getting to your point. Short and brief answers, or small comments are what you usually say. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but I think if you opened up to people they'd be able to rely on you more." She sits down are her bed, which is across from mine.

"Do you think I should've approached Drew earlier?" I sighed and flopped back onto my bed.

"Yes. He's an emotional wreck right now."

She sighed and laid down and her bed. I clasp my hands together, intertwining my fingers and meshing them together.

Leaf and Drew? I never thought that there would be something connecting them, intertwining them together. Where do the rest of us stand?

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**A/N: Why the title? It goes against the little speech about destiny/fate in the beginning, and implies that people can change their fate, and recreate their destiny. Although the characters will be connect, their lives will intertwine, it could arguably be fate, or be the fact that they went against their fate and that's how they began to mingle with each other. The fact that Dawn steps away from her group of friends towards May, she could be going against her fate by doing this, or it's fate that they meet. Her falling in love with Paul, did she change her fate or was it destiny? Totally debatable. **

**Does this chapter seem short, because I feel like it kinda is LOL. No Paul today! Of course, Dawn and Paul don't really have any classes together so it's not like they'd see ****each other all the time. But don't worry, he'll definitely be around! And as the story progress, start looking for how the 8 of them (Dawn, Paul, Drew, May, Leaf, Gary, Ash, Misty) are all connected. Right now you can make a few connections, but once the story is over it will be a huge giant mess that will confuse you to no end haha.**

**Poor Drew! If anyone was confused, Drew's mom (Leaf's aunt) left home and for the past month she's been hanging with her brother, Drew's uncle (Leaf's dad). The reason why is unclear, but will be revealed soon!**

**And May! May is a very important character to Dawn especially. She (like a lot of the characters) will help Dawn grow and develop (character development woohoo!) through out the story. But mainly, May gives Dawn a fresh perspective on everything, including herself and group that she hangs out with!**

**Please review, fav, follow, whatever you feel is necessary! See you guys next week! :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Saudade

**A/N: LATE UPDATE? WHOOPS. I WAS SICK FOR THE WHOLE ENTIRE WEEK BUT LOOK I'M ALIVE WOOHOOOOOO**

**lack of metaphors, lack of sleep, lack of health. Second semester was suppose to be good to be and it backfired. :(**

**/**

**QuartzClaw: Thank you so much! :) Hope this chapter meets your expectations.**

**Guest: i know it killed me to write this about drew ugh my more rose bby**

**Gogoat: Ahhhh i was super nervous about not including Paul in this chapter, and thank you! I'm trying to make this realistic and relatable as possible, so things will go slowwwwww. oh god my heart is breaking THIS CANT BE REAL watch them cancel the episode and be like "LOL JK ITS A FAKE IM A TROLL"  
**

**Sakura Touko: Thanks for your amazing reviews, and always reviewing every chapter!**

**PolarDawn: HELLO FRIEND! :) Thanks for such a detailed review! I don't think I meant to show Leaf as a nerd. She is by no means shy, or hesitant (will be revealed later on in the fanfic), she just doesn't feel the need to meddle in things unnecessary, or waste her time in things that don't have much meaning to her. Glasses stem from the fact that she loves reading, and over time needs to get glasses due to the fact that she reads 24/7. And DREW! Think about it this way: his mother has been gone for the past month, with no sign of were she was going or why she left. For all Drew knows, she could be dead! Imagine if your mother just dropped off the face of the planet, imagine how panicked you'd be, how worried you'd be and how mad you would be that no one has successfully done anything to bring her back. Hearing Leaf tell him that, he's relieved and angry. His mother is alive and doing well! Why would Leaf put him through that hell? And oh arecus i did i can't believe no one pointed that out earlier. **

**InkPress (2): Thank you! And yes, Drew's issue to seem to take up the entirety of this fanfic, but I'm trying to make it realistic as possible. Yes, Paul is our main focus but things in life tend to knock us off. Dawn is issue free (FOR NOW OF COURSE) reflecting her whole "princess-y, life is perfect woohoo" vibe, which will be completely and utterly destroyed (slowly of course). I'm glad you mentioned how the next few chapters are important for setting the direction of the story, because I completely agree and the next few chapters definitely will do that! And yes, melo=swag.**

**/**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**saudade**

_[sao-dutch-ay_]  
noun (Pourtogese/Brazilian word)  
1.  
**a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia**  
2.  
A **somewhat melancholic feeling of incompleteness**. It is related to thinking back on situations of privation due to the **absence of someone or something**, to move away from a place or thing, or to the **absence of a set of particular and desirable experiences and pleasures once lived**  
3.  
intimate feeling and mood caused by the l**onging for something absent that is being missed**  
4.  
**sadness felt about those who departed on journeys to unknown** seas and disappeared in shipwrecks, died in battle, or simply never returned

_**The true meaning of this word cannot be fully comprehended, due to the fact that there is no direct translation for the feelings exhibited with his word.**_

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**Chapter 7: Saudade**

People refer to the towns as "the countryside", "the forest", or even "slums".

I don't think Twinleaf Town was a slum at all. Some of the people there were poor, but not all of us. In fact, I don't think anyone was truly poor. We lived together as a community, interacted with one another, grew food together, cooked together, laughed together. I didn't understand rich and poor like I do today. Rich simply meant having a lot, poor meant having little. No one had little because we viewed our wealth together as a town. We had a lot of happiness, a lot of food, a lot of love and interaction. That was our wealth.

In Twinleaf I had two friends, Barry and Lucas. Barry was an idiot, a complete idiot. He would always drag us on journeys, little adventures, or make up a random mission for us to do. Everyday was something different; his imagination was endless. Lucas was shy and timid. He spent a lot of his time with his dad who was a Professor Rowan's assistant. He would do everything that me or Barry asked, and would still engage in our activities even though he was uncomfortable with. But like Barry, he was an idiot too. He wanted to help his dad with research so he would try to catch pokemon with his bare hands! And of course Barry was idiotic enough to go along with him. I was an idiot too, because I went along with their crazy antics and enjoyed every minute of it. But those boys always put me first, protected me as if they were aware at a young age the consequences their actions had.

My favorite days were rainy days. We'd jump in puddles, sending water everywhere and once we were soaked to the bone we'd go to Lucas' house. His mother would cook us raisin bread and we'd watch the pale dough expand and turn golden like the hidden sun.

In comparison to Veilstone and Hearthome, the days and nights in Twinleaf were endless. I would wake up, run to my friends house and we would chase the sun; we'd watch him beat up all the clouds, empower us with his everlasting rays, and slowly say goodbye and dip below the horizon. The moon would come out with her stars but I was always afraid of the dark and ran home crying. In the mornings me and my friends would roll around in the dirt, jump off the ledges, hide in the tall grass, and dip our toes in the lakes. At night we'd run the the safety of our homes, whisper and giggle to each other and fall asleep to our laughter. Those were simple times.

But things in the city are not simple. It's bright, like the sun but the brightness is fake. Those artificial lights give no warmth or power., they drain days and nights are all timed, all fit into a schedule. Here, people would be chased, people would be beat up, and goodbyes never implied hello again. The moon would prompt people to come out and run aimlessly into the night with guns, violence, and alcohol. Concrete is slabbed over the dirt, ledges and grass do not exist, cholrohom filled pools make me dizzy. Whispers and rumors buzz round, and now I am simply lulled to sleep to my own tiredness and overexhastion.

The three of us go here now, but we don't hang out anymore. Distance shoved us away from each other, Palkia created space that we can't avoid.

The towns, the countryside, was a breath of fresh air. Here I choke on poison.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"Hey Leaf, let's walk together to the cafeteria!" I slam open the door and wait for her. She stands up to fetch her backpack.

"Just because I'm Drew's cousin doesn't mean you have to treat me any differently." I shrug my shoulders.

"Maybe I just want to do something different, to change things up a bit." Leaf rolls her eyes and puts on her glasses.

"Pass." She turns her back on me, and I leave. There was no point of me trying to push Leaf, she was sturdy and stubborn. I walk down the hallway towards the elevator. Loud stomps are heard and I turn around, surprised.

"P-"

Paul dashes towards and puts a hand on my mouth. "Don't speak." He says to me, glaring. His blazer is missing, tie undid, and button up shirt was not buttoned up all the way. Hair was messy and cheeks rosy, as if he was doing some physical activity. I made my eyes even wider. Was Paul seeing a girl?!

Paul whips his head around, checking the hallways to make sure no one is there and his hair slaps me in the face. I grunt in annoyance but he ignores it. Silence fills the hallways, and Paul sighs in relief. I push him away and give him an annoyed look.

"PAUL WHAT TH-" He glares me down so I shut up, but glare back at him. He attacks me and then glares at me? Oh no, I am not having that this morning.

"Answers." I demand, hands on my hip. He rolls his eyes and gets back into the elevator. I run into the elevator with him, right before the doors close.

We stand on opposite ends, me glaring at him and him looking at the floor, uninterested. I tap my foot impatiently, waiting for him to spit something out.

The doors ding open to the first floor and he quickly dashes out, not making eye contact with anyone or even stopping when I yell for him to slow down. Regardless of the obvious fact that he doesn't want me to catch up to him, I still do anyways. I grab onto his shirt and breathe heavily.

"Are you going to tell me yet?"

Paul looks down on me, glaring. "Like I said, I don't owe you any explanations." He drops a water bottle at my feet and walks away, fixing his shirt and his tie. I grab the bottle and sit on a white marble bench, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

What the heck just happened?

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

I walk with Drew to homeroom, chatting away idly about what happened this morning. I can tell Drew is trying his hardest not to smirk at me, but it breaks through and he starts laughing. I slap his arm aggressively, but my face and emotions soften. The sun is shining bright as it always is, and it lights up Drew's eyes. They look like dazzling emeralds.

"Still rude of you to laugh at me, you know. I was just curious!" Drew wipes away an imaginary tear.

"You're so persistent sometimes."

"I just wanted answers."

I spot May at her locker and wave at her. She makes eye contact with me and smiles. I grab Drew's hand. "C'mon, let's go see her!" Drew's ears turn red.

"Maybe I'll just go that way..." He says, spinning on his heel and turning around. I grab him again and spin him in May's direction.

"Our homeroom is this way, Hayden! C'mon now, don't be shy..." I say, pushing his buttons. He rolls his eyes.

"I'm not shy!"

"Hey May!"

"Hiya Dawn! Grass head."

"Nice to see you as radiant as a pile of garbage, June." I widen my eyes, and May fumbles around with her backpack, slightly enraged.

"Garbage doesn't shine, idiot." May says, proud of her retort.

"That's the point, April." I look between the two of them, watching them bicker like an old married couple and sigh. Drew and May were perfect for each other, so why couldn't they just realize it? They were like the Earth and the Sun. The Earth needs the Sun's warm rays, no matter how annoyingly bright and obnoxious they were, while the Sun just wanted someone that will appreciate it's glory.

My blissful thoughts and May and Drews argument on shining pieces of waste was cut short by one person being shoved against the lockers with a loud bang. May jumped, and Drew stepped forward, arms out, protecting us.

Or maybe just May.

Paul's back was on the lockers, the locks digging into his lower back. Lucas, one of the football players was glaring at him, holding Paul's tie in his hand along with the collar of his shirt. Lucas was breathing heavy, anger sketched onto his face. Paul remained stoic, as if this was something at happened so often that he was used to it and didn't need to worry.

"Who do you think you are man?" Lucas asks Paul with anger. Paul doesn't answer. "I SAID, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Lucas yells again, slamming Paul into the lockers. People begin to murmur and whisper.

Paul remains silent, and Lucas punches him in the face.

Once.

Twice.

"Mr. Diamond, what do you th-"

Three times.

"Mr. DIAMOND!"

Four.

I make eye contact with Lucas and he just stares at me, stares at Paul and back at me. His mouth opens widely, but he shuts it closed. I don't break eye contact with him until he's out the building. Everyone then begins to act like nothing happened, walking over Paul. Paul is now on the ground, clutching his stomach and wiping his face were blood seems to appear.

"Paul!" I push past Drew and run up to him and crouch down with him. I wipe away his purple hair, take off my tie and apply pressure to the wound.

"What was that all about? I didn't think you'd get yourself involved with Lucas."

Paul looks at me, and forcefully pushes me aside. He picks up his bag and looks at me.

"This was about you." He walks away and I sit on the floor, stunned.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

"1...2...3!"

Ursula and the rest of the girls at the bottom lift me up and I pull my leg next to my head, other arm extended. They bring me back down and throw me this time, my body going into fetal position as I spin through the air. Then they bring me down and we clap along with the rest of the girls.

Harley doesn't look impressed, but he isn't yelling, which is a good sign.

"Worthington, will win today, green and white will lead the way!" We give a cheer and a couple of waves and look to Harley, waiting for something.

"That... was absolutely HORRID!" He screeches, fist clenched and his face red. He points to one of the freshman "YOU NEED TO SMILE MORE!"

"YOU, BE MORE FLEXIBLE. IF YOU CAN'T DO THE SPILTS, GET OUT."

"YOU TWO, YELL."

"YOU!" Harley stops in front of Ursula, who's sitting on the ground drinking water. "FIX YOUR HAIR OR SOMETHING!" Ursula plays with her curls and Harley bickers on and on.

"HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSE TO KEEP A 16 YEAR WINNING STREAK IF YOU SLACKERS KEEP LOOKING LIKE TRASH! DO IT AGAIN!" We run to out positions, and Harley slams his finger on the boombox.

A flip, twirl and pose. Splits on the ground, in the air, if possible Harley would have us do splits for our whole routine.

"Up you go fatty." Ursula whispers to me, I roll my eyes and they toss me up. We do the same thing that we did before.

"Worthington, will win today, green and white will lead the way!" Harley claps.

"Better. Do it again!"

We all let out a big sigh.

"WHO LET OUT A SIGH?! DOES SOMEONE WANT TO RUN?!"

"Cheerleaders don't run!" A girl shouts, Harley turns and points a finger at her.

"DON'T PUSH ME, YOU TWIG!"

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

After cheer practice I glide towards Ursula, with a grin on my face. "So, homecoming is next Friday, how is our progress with Paul?" She rolls her eyes.

"Don't worry about it_ DeeDee_." She grabs her duffel bag and I follow her.

"So this means I win right?" She gives me a smug grin.

"Actually this morning I forced myself onto Paul." She gave me a wink, and I connected the dots together.

"What do you mean forced!?" I look at her with wide eyes.

"I forced my body onto his, do you understand?" She says slowly, as if I don't understand English.

"Did you...?!" My hands go to my red and embarrassed face. Paul Shinji and Ursula Urara had sex?!

Ursula laughs at me. "I'm just kidding Dawn. Geez, you're gullible." I glare at her and scrunch up my nose.

"I can't believe you."

"I'm not like Gary, I won't throw myself at everything that breathes." We stand at a crossroad. "Do you want to go get pizza with me and some football guys." Instantly I thought of Lucas.

"No thanks, I'm going to hang with Drew." Drew and Leaf actually, but I left the Leaf bit out. I didn't want Ursula to know what was going on, she had a tendency to tell everybody everything.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Later."

"Bye."

I turn around, and see Lucas in front of me.

"Lucas."

"Dawn."

An awkward silence comes between us.

"What was your deal this morning? Why did you do that to Paul?" Lucas scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"No hello, or how's it going?" He comes close to me, arms out for a hug and I push him away.

"Don't start that shit with me! What's you're problem?"

"My problem? My problem is I need to look out for you! It's you!"

"Me? How am I your problem? We don't even talk anymore! I don't even know who you are anymore!" Lucas sighs and puts his hand through his hair.

"Just stay away from Paul Shinji."

The distance between us grew again, and just looked at his retreating figure. Distance was something we had learned to accept. Like the puddles that we broke apart, sending droplets of water farther away from each other, or even the dough that expanded the golden raisin bread so no two raisins were next to each other; this distance that nature was imprisoned by was something that I had unconsciously gotten used too.

The universe was expanding, planets were growing father away from each other, and so were we.

**(◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿) (◕‿◕✿)**

**ISN'T THAT TITLE INTERESTING?! SUCH A COOL WORD! **

**In my econ class, we watched a video called the "Economics of Happiness". There was a segment about a town somewhere in Asian. No one was homeless, no one was unemployed, no violence or crime.**

**But in that town, t****he houses were small, there was no electricity or running water; the town was basically stuck in the 1700s. Agriculture was their way of living. To outsiders, we would see them as poor, ****underprivileged, and underdeveloped. The people in the town didn't see themselves like that. One man said, "We are rich. There is no one hungry here, there is no economic flaw. Our people are happy, and that's what it means to be rich."  
**

**When products from the USA were introduced, and globalization began to kick it, the townspeople saw themselves how we would see them. The same man who was interviewed was later begging in the streets, saying "We are poor, give us money." I based Twinleaf town off of that, simply to make the world of pokemon seem less utopian like (excluding those villainous groups of course) and more realistic. Plus, the country adds more to Dawn's "good girl, princess vibe". It gives more reason to why she is so naive to love, and relies heavily on the media's ****portrayal of what love is.**

**So we finally get to meet Lucas, who is a stereotypical jerk face football player. If you can't connect the dots as to why Lucas is like this, he is easily swayed and the type of person who subjects to peer pressure. Like mentioned in the beginning, he felt obligated to hang out with Dawn and Barry simply because he was easily influenced. In a high school environment, Lucas is a people pleaser, and strives to become someone people would like and want to be with. In addition to his "easily swayed by peers" attitude, he becomes a cocky, stereotypical football player. Of course, this will all be revealed to Dawn later.**

**Lucas will act as Dawn's knight in "not so shining armor", a hero who is flawed, a character who doesn't strive to be a villain but just ends up looking like one. Lucas is a somewhat of a villain (misunderstood would probably be a better way to put it), in comparison to Gary, the boy that she really does admire (I guess you could say, her knight) or Drew (her safe haven, her protection) and even to Paul (a mysterious boy who perks her attention), the only thing Lucas really has going for him with Dawn is his past. However, the conflict arises between past vs. future. **

**GG URSULA YOU TRIED YOUR BEST ITS OKAY NEXT TIME YOU'LL GET HIM (no, you won't) **

**AND HARLEY IS HANDS DOWN MY FAV. HE IS THE GORDON RAMSEY OF CHEERLEADING.**

**Review! Please, feedback is NECESSARY. **


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